Four-Zero Project: Week 9

This was a tough week.  Morning sickness made an appearance a few days ago and decided that it liked the digs and stayed lingering around for an entire 2 days!  Of course leave it to fate for me to feel sick on my mother's birthday AND on the weekend!  When the morning sickness reached its pinnacle, I started to become consumed with depression.  My mind doesn't respond well to long bouts of bodily discomfort.  This week really made me consider the possibility of post-partum depression with this next child.  I had neither morning sickness, nor depression with Diego.  I'm not saying Diego's an angel though; nor am I already choosing my favorite child.  Actually, I think that because of my little Diego demon (I say it in the most loving way) and his antics, I am physically exhausted to respond well to this next pregnancy.  During the first pregnancy I could take a nap whenever I wanted (as long as I wasn't working or driving...LOL), and I didn't have as many responsibilities.  Nowadays, things are so different.

So this weekend, there were times that I just needed to sit down and fester in my own cruddy mood.  I couldn't let this mood affect me, so I went on with my plans.  We went to my mom's birthday dinner.  We had to wait over an hour to be seated.  Over an hour!  I had to pretend like everything was OK until then.  Luckily the restaurant was outside of a mall, so my sister suggested that we do some shopping while we waited.

That's where I picked up my splurge item of the week.  An owl necklace for $18.  I've always wanted one, and ever since I started following the Adored Austin blog, I NEEDED one.  I love that blog because its a fashion/mommy blog, and we have mostly the same taste when it comes to accessories.  I mean, we even have the same diaper bag!

I did end up telling the big news to my family at the birthday dinner, and as I expected my mom didn't get it at first; she needed a little bit of explanation and coaxing.  As soon as she uncovered the second picture, she instantly thought it was a picture of Diego's first ultrasound...

"Actually, Mother, read the picture," I said.  And as her brain processed the wording, her face lit up and she said,

"Are you pregnant again!!!?"

"Yes, mother.  Now you can stop saying I'm getting fat!"

And she laughed.  Now she owns a frame with a picture of her two grandchildren.  She got lost in wonder for a minute as she tried to envision what her future grandchild would look like.  Whose face will eventually replace that photo?  We hope to find out by the end of this year!

SYMPTOMS

All day morning sickness and depression.  Starting to notice a belly pouch.

CRAVINGS

N/A ; I must've been too depressed to feel I deserved good food.... NO!  Wait!  Now I remember!  Before the sickness and depression started I was craving a Little Lucca's Sandwich!  OMG it was deeeeeeelicious.  It was EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED AT THAT MOMENT.  It's been awhile since I've been satisfied like that with food in awhile.  Yup, I think I'll sit back now, and remember what it felt like to eat that sandwich - Ultimate Club... If you must know...

Milestones Day!

There's a lot going on today, and it's unfortunate that today has been one of my physically worst days of my new pregnancy to date.  I really don't know what's going on.  I guess I'm in the middle of experiencing an ALL DAY morning sickness.  I guess we should rename it to All Day-sickness.  I never had morning sickness with Diego!  Speaking of which, today he turns 16 months!

Lucky for me, it's Friday so I'll have a little time to recuperate over the weekend.  Unlucky for me, I'm at work right now and I have a 2-hr meeting that's scheduled to run at least until 4:30 pm, so there'll be no sneaking out early for me (**sad face).  Even worse is that today is my mother's birthday and the family decided to go out to dinner tonight at the last minute.  I thought I had more time, because we were planning to celebrate over the weekend.

So during my lunch break today in addition to feeling a great urge to vomit, I had to jump in my car and go shopping for my mother's birthday present.   Today is also the day that I plan to tell my parents the big news!  It's the best way that I can surprise them and catch them off-guard.

Here's my plan:

1. Buy two frames.
2. Put a picture of my mom and Diego in one, and a picture of the new ultrasound in the other.
3. Photoshop the Diego picture to read:  "Greatest Grandma"
4. Photoshop the utlrasound picture to read:  "Greatest Grandma: Round 2"
5. Wrap the frames as a birthday present to my mother
6. Hand it to her and tell her it's her present from Diego  (just like I did for Mother's Day)
7. Make her open the Diego picture first, then the ultrasound picture
8. Sit back, and see if they get it (**fingers crossed)

It might be a little early at 9 weeks, 2 days (or 9 1/2 weeks according to my latest ultrasound), but everything on the two ultrasounds that I've had so far have been positive.  And I really want to catch them with the element of surprise... and I figured I either surprise them this way, or puke in their laps.

Man!  I really need to feel better before tonight!  Wish me luck!

Decisions, Decisions

I'm a Libra - I can't make decisions.  As such, I've been struggling to decide when to tell my immediate family about the new pregnancy.  I waited 10 weeks to tell them about my first pregnancy, because I wanted to have a picture from the ultrasound for them and I made an elaborate video.  With the second pregnancy, I took a "what could go wrong?" approach and told them within the same week that I found out.  We all know what happened - BAM!

So now, I'm stuck in this mental limbo of decision-making. Given my last experience, I think I'll take some time and feel it out some more before I go blabbing around town.  Especially since I continue to spot.  I thought I was finishing up yesterday, to today's dismay :(

But it's so hard not to tell people!  I mean, I'm so close to my sister that it's hard to keep this kind of news from her.  She was actually the first person I've told each time (other than my husband of course).  And then there's my mother, who was dying (not literally) and impatiently waiting to become a grandma last time around...

Just yesterday, my mom offered me a little bit of chicken fried rice that she made, and I accepted.  She served me the dish and came prepared with a bottle of Kikkoman Soy Sauce in her hand.  She said, "I know that you ALWAYS add more soy sauce" - and it's true I do.  I don't even bother to taste the food first.  I can tell there's not enough flavor just by how brown it is.  This bothers my mom because it's "unhealthy" to put too much extra soy sauce on your food.    So just to get under her skin a bit, with a little smirk I poured a little more than I normally would - what else is a daughter supposed to do when her mother is looming over her shoulder observing her Kikkoman intake?  Of course I had to prod her!

And she reacted the way I expected.  She huffed and started talking about how bad it is to do that.  She told me that I need to start eating more healthy and taking care of myself.  Then she said in Spanish, "Te esta creciendo la pansa!" - my stomach is starting to grow.  Oh Mother, if you only read my blog.... [OK, and I'm probably guilty of one too many McDonald's runs too]

And then last week, before I knew for sure that I was pregnant, I received an email from my cousin in Peru.  We're pen pals (or is it called e-pals these days?  Or maybe keyboard pals?).    Anyway, she wrote a semi-short message to me.  If my Spanish speaking skills are not very good, then my reading and writing skills are worse (but she continues to write to me for some reason!)  I felt like Beavis and Butthead while reading her email, "Words, words, words, words, I'm pregnant again, words, words, words."

She's pregnant again?!!!!!!  And she beat me AGAIN!  I can't believe this chick!  This is the cousin with whom I made a pact years ago to get pregnant together.  She got preggers right away the first time, and I was TTC for 3 years.  Then, when I finally got preggers the first time, I was so excited to tell my family, but guess what - "Maura is pregnant too!  And she's due before YOU!"

And now we come to present-day, a week before I find out if I'm pregnant and like clockwork I get this email in my inbox.  OF COURSE you're pregnant Maura!  How could you not be?  I jest, because I love my cousin and am happy for her 3rd child on the way (may it be the boy she's been wanting).

But like I said, it's so hard not to tell my family...